The Other Way Around
by Finntastic17
Summary: What if Shelby had never given up Rachel? If things were the other way around, she would go to Carmel High, be in Vocal Adrenaline, and be very close to Jesse St. James. But what about Finn? What would happen if they fell in love... and it were forbidden?
1. Chapter 1: Only Losers Didn't

**I came up with this idea while watching some episodes from Season 1. As I was thinking, this idea hit me and I just had to write it down. I'm not sure if there is another fanfiction out there like this one, and if there is, I promise you, I came up with idea by myself. In no way was I trying to steal anyone's idea. Basically, I was wondering what it would be like if Shelby hadn't given Rachel up. She would go to Carmel High, be in Vocal Adrenaline, and my guess, be very close to Jesse St. James. This story will go through all of Season 1 and 2. The first chapter takes place during the Pilot episode, where New Directions goes to the invitational that Vocal Adrenaline hosts. I hope you all enjoy! This chapter is entitled 'Only Losers Don't'.**

Who in Carmel High hadn't heard of Rachel Berry? Only losers didn't know who she was. At Carmel High, one of Ohio's most prestigious performing arts high schools, Rachel Berry was a star. Being the lead singer of Vocal Adrenaline, the state's five-time regional champion, and daughter of the coach, Shelby Corcoran herself, Rachel Berry was one of the most popular girls at school.

She knew she was talented, she knew she was pretty, and she knew she was well-liked. Rachel Berry had it all. But the day the McKinley High glee club showed up to one of their recitals was the day everything turned upside down.

It all started during rehearsal two days before the recital. She and Jesse were practicing vocal runs when he decided to call a break. Rachel had known Jesse all her life; he only lived a few houses away from her and just so happened to be the male lead.

"You won't believe who bought tickets to our recital." He snickered, taking a seat at the edge of the stage. Rachel's smile grew wide as she took a seat next to him. She'd be foolish to say she didn't have a crush on Jesse St. James; almost every girl at Carmel High did. He was cute, talented…and available.

"Who?" She asked, pushing some of her hair behind her ears. Jesse grinned and leaned closer to her face.

"That McKinley High glee club in Lima." Both of them burst into laughter.

"That loser club?" Rachel scoffed, still laughing. "Boy, are they in for a surprise."

"They'll go home _**crying**_ once they hear your voice. They'll know they'll never be able to beat it." Rachel blushed as Jesse flashed her one of those irresistible smiles.

"I didn't even know they were still a club." Rachel chuckled. "Wasn't their coach that creepy one? The one who would constantly skip out on class to attend the nearest doll conventions?"

"Supposedly they go themselves a new coach." Jesse grinned mischievously. "He probably won't stick around once he realizes just how doomed his little gang of losers is."

"That is so true." Rachel agreed, giggling. They sat in silence for a few moments before Jesse got to his feet. He grabbed the sheet music and waved it around in the air.

"More motivation to do better." He winked at her and began his part again. Rachel jumped to her feet and joined in with her part, smiling as she thought to herself just how amazingly well her voice sounded with Jesse's.

-glee!-

As they changed into their costumes for the recital, Rachel realized she was missing a shoe. And she new Dakota Stanley would not let her on stage with one shoe, no matter how important her part was or how talented she was. Andrea, a junior in Vocal Adrenaline, passed by Rachel with a smirk on her face.

"Missing something?" She whispered, snickering as she walked away. Rachel clenched her fists together. Andrea probably hid it somewhere. Rachel stormed out of the dressing room and ran straight into Jesse, who was probably off to find his place on stage.

"Whoah, Rachel, is something wrong?" He asked, tilting his head to the side.

"Yes. I can't find my other shoe!" Rachel shook her head in dismay. "If I don't find it, Dakota won't let me onstage, and Vocal Adrenaline will be doomed." Jesse inhaled sharply before shaking his head disapprovingly.

"Don't worry; it's ten minutes before show time. We'll find your shoe." He reassured her.

"You're…going to help me look for it?" Rachel asked disbelievingly, eyes wide.

"I'm going to go onstage, see if it was left there after the dress rehearsal. Then I'll check back with you." Jesse confirmed.

"I'll be somewhere out here." Rachel told him, smiling. Jesse grinned and jogged off to the stage. Rachel sighed and walked away, desperately trying to calm herself down. She made her way to the seating area and watched as many people shuffled to their seats. Rachel gulped; she wasn't one to get nervous, but this was a lot of people. Shelby didn't tell her there would be _**this **_many. Rachel shook her head; she couldn't focus on that now. She had to find her shoe. And then she ran into someone else.

"Gosh, I'm sorry." Rachel muttered, stepping back. "I'm just not really paying attention today." She glanced up at the other person. He was tall; taller then any person she had ever seen. Or maybe he just seemed so tall because she was so short. Either way, he was young, probably about her age. He was cute, with his hair mussed in that boyish way. His eyes were a really pretty hazel color.

"Oh, it's okay." He smiled. At a loss for words, Rachel just smiled back at him. "I just found this…over there. I thought maybe it belonged to one of you guys." He lifted up a shoe. Rachel's grin widened.

"My shoe!" She exclaimed. "Oh, you're a lifesaver! Dakota wouldn't have let me onstage if I didn't find this!" The boy laughed as Rachel desperately slipped it on.

"What's your name?" He asked. Once Rachel had managed to put her shoe on, she met his gaze again.

"Rachel." She whispered. His eyes widened.

"As in, _**Rachel Berry**_?" He checked. Rachel snorted.

"Of course! How many other Rachel's are in Vocal Adrenaline?" She chuckled. "What's your name?"

"Finn." He replied, grinning.

"Rachel, it wasn't onstage…and I see you found it." Jesse began before glancing at her feet. Rachel blushed. Jesse glanced up at Finn and frowned, wrapping his arm around Rachel's shoulder.

"Who's he?" Jesse asked in an unemotional voice.

"His name is Finn." Rachel uttered, completely shocked by Jesse's gesture. She was pretty sure her cheeks were a bright red right now, but she couldn't help it.

"Well, your show's about to start. I better go sit back down." Finn smiled. "Nice meeting you, Rachel."

"You, too." Rachel replied softly. She watched him leave and felt Jesse tugging her away.

"Not only will Dakota kill us for being late, but of all the people you had to converse with, it had to be _**him**_?" Jesse hissed, his grip on Rachel tightening.

"He found my shoe." Rachel protested. "What's so bad about him?" Jesse stopped and gripped Rachel by the shoulders, staring directly into her eyes.

"Since you're only a sophomore and it's your first year on the team, I'll assume you don't know the most important rule of show choir." He paused. "Never, _**ever**_, converse with the enemy, no matter how sucky their team is." Rachel gasped.

"He's from McKinley?"

"Of course!" Jesse exclaimed, grabbing Rachel's hand and pulling her onstage. "Why else do you think he'd be here?" They took their places, Rachel ignoring the death glare Dakota was giving them, and waited for the curtain to rise.

"Ladies and gentlemen, _**Vocal Adrenaline!**_"

-glee!-

"You were great, Rachel." Shelby praised, glancing proudly at her daughter through the mirror.

"Amazing." Jesse agreed, winking at her. Rachel blushed.

"Thank you." She flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Andrea was going flat, I could hear her. I think she ought to learn to listen to my perfect pitch." Jesse chuckled.

"I'll make sure to tell her that." He grinned. "Ms. Corcoran, is it okay if I stay over at your house for a couple of hours to run through song selections with Rachel?" Rachel blushed; first the arm-around-the-shoulder thing, now this? Did Jesse like her, too?

"Sure." Shelby said, a bit surprised. They pulled into Rachel's driveway. Rachel leapt out of her seat, grabbed the house keys from her mom's hand, unlocked the front door, and darted inside. She checked her hair and make up in her bedroom mirror before spinning around to find Jesse leaning against the doorframe.

"What a wonderful entrance." He praised mockingly. "I'd give it a nine and a half, being as you didn't run inside screaming." Rachel rolled her eyes and shoved him, blushing. Jesse grinned his cocky half-grin before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. He took a seat on her bed and glanced around the room, smiling.

"What?" Rachel asked.

"It's just…I'll miss this place when I go to college." Jesse said sadly. "I practically grew up here, with you." He smiled at her. "I'll miss you, too. You and your drama." Rachel blushed again and took a seat next to him.

"You still have the whole year." She said softly. "You don't need to start getting emotional now." Jesse scoffed.

"You wouldn't be doing this if you were in my shoes?" He asked. She blushed again, turning away. He grinned, satisfied. "Exactly."

"Jesse…" Rachel began. "Do you have a girlfriend?" She asked. She wished she hadn't said that; it sounded so stupid. Why did she act this way around him? She never used to feel awkward around him. She remembered a time when they would laugh and play around without any awkward feeling. Why did that all change in high school?

"No." Jesse smiled at Rachel, leaning closer to her face. "But I have my eye on someone." Her heart began racing.

"Really?" She whispered. "Who?" Jesse chuckled, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"You are so naïve, Rachel." He whispered. "One of your best qualities." He paused, sitting back a little. "Tell me, have you gotten your first kiss?" Rachel's eyes widened and she glanced at the floor in surprise.

"I-I'm not one to kiss and tell." She said.

"You haven't." Jesse guessed, still grinning.

"Why does it matter to you?" She asked, standing up and pacing the room. Jesse smiled, watching her pace back and forth.

"I feel strangely attracted to you, Rachel." He admitted, standing up, cupping her face in his hand. She froze, her eyes meeting his. Their beauty captivated her. She couldn't look away. "I don't want you getting hurt."

"Is that why you put your arm around me when I met Finn?" She asked quietly. "To make him jealous so he would leave?" Jesse snorted and pulled away.

"He's on the opposite team." Jesse turned to face her. "It was clear he was trying to seduce you. You are young and naïve, Rachel. This is your first year in Vocal Adrenaline, and because of your amazing talent, you have risen to the top." Jesse paused. "There's a simple rule in show choir: you break the heart of the team, you break the team." Rachel listened to him, nodding her head.

"And without my superior vocals, we would surely lose regionals." Rachel concluded.

"We've won without you before, but it was hard." Jesse admitted. "We're a shoe-in now, because of you." Rachel blushed and took a seat back on her bed. Jesse sat next to her. "And yes, I was trying to protect you."

"They thought they could win by messing with my heart." Rachel whispered.

"Not that they would their sectionals anyways." Jesse added in. "They're a bunch of no-talent losers, Rachel."

"I want to teach them a lesson." She announced, facing Jesse. "And I need you to help me."

**Hm, I wonder what lesson Rachel will teach the McKinley High kids? And was Finn trying to seduce Rachel, or was he generally interested in her? And what about Jesse? I can promise you now, he is not an 'evil character'. Jesse is a good guy with good intentions all throughout the story. But will Rachel and Jesse end up together? So many questions with so little answers! I guess you'll just have to read the next chapter to find out! Until next time, review!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Lesson Gone Wrong::Right

**Hello, hello! I am very pleased that this story has gotten as many reviews as it has! I didn't think you be that interested…I guess I was wrong XD! I'm glad you enjoyed the first chapter…so here's the second chapter! Before I let you read it, I would like to give you the progress of all my stories, so then you have an idea as to when expect another update.**

**-It Only Takes Five Weeks to Fall in Love- Complete (sequel has been posted!)**

**-The Only Hope for Me is You- In progress (expect Chapter 4 sometime next week)**

**-Bury Me in Black- In progress (expect another update tomorrow)**

**-In The End, It's Right- In progress (expect Chapter 2 in two days)**

**-The Other Way Around- In progress (expect Chapter 3 next week)**

**-Hold My Heart- Soon to be posted (new story being posted tomorrow! Please read it! It would mean so much! And this story has nothing to do with Jesse)**

**Okay, that's it! Enjoy! By the way, this chapter is entitled 'The Lesson Gone Wrong/Right'. Hm, I wonder what we can conclude from that?**

***Key*: **

_**Bold and italics: Rachel singing**_

_Italics: someone else singing_

_Italics and underlined: more then one person singing_

"Rachel, you were going flat." Andrea accused, scrutinizing Rachel with a cold glare. Rachel flipped her hair over her shoulder, breathless from the intense dance routine they were required to perform for sectionals, and faced Andrea with the same glare on her face.

"You sure you weren't hearing yourself going flat instead?" Rachel hissed. Jesse snickered and wrapped his arm around, Rachel guiding her off the stage.

"Nice comeback, kiddo." He said, grinning. "You really stumped Andrea, and that's a first for her." Rachel blushed at his praise, mumbling a 'thank you' as they exited the auditorium and started towards the parking lot. Practice was over, meaning it was time for Rachel and Jesse's weekly visit to the Lima Freeze. Although Rachel was a vegan, she still enjoyed getting the vegan milkshakes. Plus, being with Jesse definitely cancelled out the fact that she didn't eat any dairy products.

She climbed into her seat and leaned back into the comfortable leather seats as she listened to Jesse start up the engine. Moments later, they left the property of Carmel High and began their drive to their destination.

One of Rachel and Jesse's favorite activities was to point out loser kids from McKinley High School that obviously weren't as privileged as she and Jesse were. Although it was very hard to believe, Jesse could come up with some pretty mean jokes. But they were so mean, they were funny. A small smile curved the corners of her lips as she relaxed her muscles after a long day of rigorous practice.

The reached the Lima Freeze not long after. Rachel pushed her hair behind her ears and went to jump out the car, but Jesse stopped her. He winked and jumped out of his seat, closing the door behind him. He walked around the car and opened Rachel's door for her. Blushing, Rachel jumped out and thanked him quietly. _What a gentleman he is!_ Rachel thought, still blushing. He held the door for her and walked her up to the front counter. When Rachel announced that she had left her money back in her locker at school, Jesse offered to pay for her. She wanted to decline, not wanting him to spend his money on her, but he insisted. In the end, Jesse won, and Rachel got her shake. They glanced around the popular niche and, surprisingly, found an open booth. They quickly hurried and laughed as they slid into the booth.

"How's your shake?" Jesse asked.

"Good." Rachel replied, smiling mischievously. Jesse grinned at her and sighed, taking a sip of his own milkshake.

"You know what song we should do?" He said.

"What?" Rachel asked, tipping her head to the side.

"'As Long As You're Mine' from _Wicked_." Jesse said, his eyes twinkling. Rachel leaned forward in interest.

"That would work perfectly! Our voices match so well and the vocals are well within both of our ranges." Rachel grinned. Jesse chuckled. Rachel frowned, crossing her arms and sticking out her bottom lip like a child pouting. "What?" She asked in a childish voice. Jesse laughed even harder, causing Rachel to join him.

"I just think it's funny how the simplest things can get you excited." He smiled, leaning closer to her. "I find you very interesting, Rachel Berry. There may be parts of you that I don't know, but I want to get to know every side of you." He whispered. Rachel blushed and dared to rest her head on his shoulder, still sipping her milkshake. Jesse didn't move at all. If anything, he squeezed her leg in response and sat in silence. Rachel smiled to herself; she was almost positive that they were so close to dating.

Across the Lima Freeze sat Finn, Puck, Mike, and Matt, the glee club's only football jocks, and their dates, Quinn, Santana, and Brittany, the only Cheerios. Finn was the one to notice that Rachel and Jesse were only sitting a few booths away from them. He frowned; he definitely recognized Rachel (she was hot, if you weren't into boobs) but they guy she was sitting with…oh, wait; that was the same guy who interrupted their conversation at the invitational. He nudged Puck in the ribs and pointed them out.

"Aren't those two from Vocal Adrenaline?" He asked. Puck squinted as he studied them. Everyone followed his gaze and glared at the Carmel High students. Quinn scowled.

"Those over-privileged morons came _**here**_, of all places?" Quinn asked disbelievingly.

"Fuck no!" Puck exclaimed, slamming his fists onto the table. "This is our territory! Don't they have enough places they could go to?"

"I say we teach them a lesson." Matt suggested, nodding his head. Puck and Mike nodded in agreement. Brittany smiled and squeezed Mike's leg.

"I am really turned on by you right now." She whispered.

"Definitely." Santana agreed, blowing a kiss at Matt. Both boys blushed and scooted out of the booth, Puck following. Finn frowned.

"Um, guys, I don't know…"

"Come on, Finnessa, you need to man up! Those asses from Vocal Adrenaline can't start coming and claiming what belongs to us! They have enough!" Puck said. The girls and the other jocks nodded their head in agreement. Finn sighed but scooted himself out of the booth and joined the other guys. Peer pressure could get Finn to do anything. They approached the table in a cool, collective manner. Rachel and the other guy glanced up in surprise before the guy's face hardened into a stone-cold glare. Rachel's eyes met Finn's and she instantly pulled away from the guy she had been cuddling with, her cheeks turn a bright red as she glanced at the floor.

"Can I help you?" The guy asked in an irritated voice.

"Yeah." Puck smirked. "You can get the hell out of our place."

"Excuse me?" The guy asked again, standing up. Although he wasn't very tall, he was still a few inches taller then Puck.

"Jesse…" Rachel said quietly, willing for him to sit back down. She stared at Finn with round, pleading eyes. His jaw tightened; he wanted to stop Puck from beating the shit out of this Jesse kid, but a part of him was jealous that she seemed to care for him more. Sure, she and Finn had just met only days ago, but he felt some strange, instant connection to her. It was hard to explain.

"You heard me." Puck growled, clenching his hands into fists. "Get out. And take the girl with you."

"You can't kick us out!" Jesse snorted, clenching his own hands into fists.

"Jesse…" Rachel tried again, speaking a bit louder. It had become very obvious to her that Finn wasn't going to do anything. He was just like these other guys. Her heart began racing as the Mohawk kid took a step closer to Jesse.

"Yeah, I can." He growled. "Don't you rich, over-privileged kids have other places to go?"

"Get him good, Puck!" Santana exclaimed from the booth. All the Cheerios' eyes were trained on the two guys, their heartbeats quickening as the atmosphere in the place changed from upbeat to tense.

"I dare you to hit me." Jesse hissed, lifting his chin. Puck's eyes glittered and a smile spread across his face.

"Alright." He said with a simple shrug of his shoulders before punching Jesse straight in the eye. Rachel shrieked and leapt out of the booth, doing her best to avoid the fight but still try and break it up. The Cheerios were laughing hysterically and Finn stood frozen, unsure of what to do. His eyes met Rachel's helpless and pleading gaze.

"Do something." She begged in a soft whisper. And something about the way she said it, like her heart was being torn in half, broke something in Finn. He stepped forward and shoved Jesse and Puck apart.

"Knock it off!" He yelled, glaring at Puck. "You took that too far."

"What's the matter, Finnocence?" Puck hissed. "Afraid someone will call the police?" Finn shoved Puck away, glaring at him.

"Just shut the hell up!" He yelled. Puck shook his head, storming out the entrance.

"You guys are a bunch of pussies." He called over is shoulder. As if they were on a leash, the Cheerios all jumped out of their seats and darted after him. Finn turned back around to see Rachel at Jesse's side, carefully assessing his wounds. He had a black eye and his nose was bleeding (it wasn't broken, but if Puck had punched it harder…).

"I think we better go home." Rachel said quietly, linking her arm to Jesse's as she reached up to touch his black eye. He flinched but sighed and nodded his head. Finn's jaw tightened as he watched the two of them slowly head for the exit. As Rachel passed him by, he almost swore he heard her breathe a 'thank you'.

-glee!-

Rachel had Jesse lie down on her bed as she went to fetch him an icepack and a glass of water. She came back moments later, feeling very relieved that her mom wasn't home. She had stayed back at Carmel to meet with some of the other performing arts teachers and go through her sheet music for future numbers for regionals.

"How is your eye?" She said softly.

"It hurts." He complained, sitting up as Rachel took a seat next to him. "When I see that kid again, I'll punch him all the way to hell."

"Violence is never the answer." Rachel scolded, gently pressing the icepack to his eye. Jesse stiffened at first, but relaxed and placed his hand over Rachel's. She pretended not to care, but her heart was racing inside and her stomach had turned upside-down.

"Thank you." He said quietly. "For taking care of me in my time of need." Rachel's heartbeat quickened and she struggled to focus.

"I would have done it for anyone." She said hoarsely. Jesse grinned and leaned closer to her face.

"That's what I like about you: your caring personality." And then he kissed her. Sure, Rachel had been kissed before at different performing arts camps (one boy even had the audacity to claim he was gay after kissing her), but none of them could ever compare to the kiss Jesse St. James placed on her lips. She closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of his cologne and kissed back with the same amount of passion he had kissed her with. After a few more seconds, Jesse pulled away, smiling. "I always wanted to see what that was like." He admitted before jumping to his feet and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Rachel asked.

"My dad wanted me home by nine." Jesse admitted, rolling his eyes. "Probably just to lecture me on how I'm going to go nowhere with my life and how big of a waste show choir is and how I should man up and go into the business with him." Rachel smiled.

"Then go. I don't want you to get in trouble." She said softly.

"We'll do this again sometime." Jesse said, winking before leaving her room. She heard the front door open, and then close. She sighed, leaning back in her bed. She was alone now, but she at least had the memory of Jesse's kiss fresh in her mind.

-glee!-

"So you're sure you want to do this?" Jesse asked Rachel, the two of them standing outside the McKinley High choir room, watching the new glee director direct the doomed club of misfit losers. It was all part of Rachel's plan to get back at them for trying to mess with her heart (and for punching Jesse).

"Yes." Rachel whispered, her heart racing.

"How do you know we're going to be able to pull this off?" Jesse asked again, turning to face her. His eye was a dark black and blue color and was slightly swollen, but other then that, it had definitely gotten better.

"Because I know that their club has a huge diva in it." Rachel smirked (she would never tell Jesse that a while after they returned from the invitational, Rachel had gone on Facebook and, out of curiousity, lurked on Finn's page). "If we push her enough, she will have no choice but to challenge us. They will all be in for a total shock when they realize just how amazing we are, and they'll realize there is no hope in trying to compete with us. The club will disband and we'll have no more problems with them." Jesse grinned and ruffled her hair.

"You're a genius." He whispered before opening the door. The two of them walked in, proud smirks on their faces as their eyes met the shocked gazes of the McKinley High glee club. The teacher turned around and stared at the two students, frowning slightly.

"Can I help you?" He asked.

"We'd like a moment to talk to your glee club." Jesse said smoothly. The teacher frowned but stepped aside as Rachel and Jesse took a step forward. The McKinley High glee kids stared at them with bored and disrespectful looks in their eyes. She smiled and smoothed her pleated plaid skirt before beginning.

"My name is Rachel Berry and this is Jesse St. James." She started. "As you should know, we are the leads of Vocal Adrenaline, the state's five-time regional champions."

"Did you come here to gloat?" A well-dressed pale boy asked, glancing at his nails, bored. Rachel had a feeling that he could be gay, but she didn't want to make assumptions. He didn't look like a high school student at all; he looked like an eleven-year-old milkmaid.

"No, as a matter of fact, we came here to recruit." Jesse began, glancing at Rachel with sparkling eyes. Their plan was working so far. "Vocal Adrenaline could use more members, and we thought we'd start from the lowest point of the totem poll to start the process of recruiting: you." A definite lie; Vocal Adrenaline did not need any new members.

"Aw, hell to the naw!" The only colored girl in the class exclaimed, jumping to her feet. Rachel's smile widened; this had to be the diva Finn's Facebook page had informed her about. "You can't just waltz in here and ask us to come join your snotty rich-kid ranks!"

"Its just business." Rachel said smoothly, grinning. Her smile faltered as her eye caught Finn's; something about the way he stared at her…it made her feel special. "Vocal Adrenaline, as I mentioned before, is the state's five-time regional champion, and we're going for a sixth regional title. My mom happens to be the coach, and I'm sure that most of you are talented enough to make it." Rachel smiled.

"If you have enough money to pay for the tuition Carmel High asks for, we highly recommend you come join us." Jesse continued. "Your voice could be a great aid to us."

"But don't count on solos, because no one's voice could ever match mine." Rachel declared, lifting her chin.

"Uh-uh!" The black girl exclaimed again, crossing her arms.

"Mercedes…" The teacher began in a quiet voice.

"Funny." Rachel said, smirking. "Isn't that the name of a car?" She knew she was hitting a low point, but she knew that this would definitely strike the girl's last nerve.

"Of course, Rachel." Jesse said, playing along. "It's the type of car I drive."

"That's it!" Mercedes exclaimed. "Imma show you rich losers how much better we unprivileged kids can sing." She turned to the piano player. "You know what song! Hit it!" The music for 'I Will Be' by Leona Lewis began playing.

"Go." Jesse whispered. Heart pounding, Rachel faced Mercedes, not flinching when she saw the challenging glint in her eyes.

_There's nothing I can say to you,_

_Nothing I could ever do_

_To make you see_

_What you mean to me!_

_All the pain, the tears I cried._

_Still you never said goodbye._

_And now I know_

_How far you'd go!_

Rachel took a deep breath and faced the other students, her eyes instantly meeting Finn's. She couldn't explain it…it was as if there was a magnetic pull dragging her gaze to his. She began to sing.

_**I know I let you down.**_

_**But it's not like that now.**_

_**This time I'll never let you go.**_

Mercedes sang with her on the next part. Rachel had to admit, she was pretty good. But she was still better…by far.

_I will be _

_All that you want_

_And get myself together_

'_Cause you keep me from falling apart!_

_All my life_

_I'll be with you forever._

_To get you through the day,_

_You make everything okay!_

Mercedes let Rachel sing the next part. Rachel could see her visibly growing uncomfortable; they all knew Rachel was better. Her plan was flowing smoothly. It was beginning to register to them that they were unbeatable; they had no hope.

_**I thought that I had everything**_

_**I didn't know what life could bring.**_

_**But now I see honestly.**_

_**You're the one thing I got by,**_

_**The only one I let inside.**_

_**Now I can't breathe!**_

'_**Cause you're here with me.**_

Rachel took a break and glanced back at Jesse, who winked at her and gave her a small nod of approval. She was doing fantastic. Rachel blushed and listened to Mercedes continue.

_And if I let you down,_

_I'll turn it all around,_

'_Cause I would never let you go!_

They both sang the next part.

_I will be _

_All that you want_

_And get myself together_

'_Cause you keep me from falling apart!_

_And all my life_

_I'll be with you forever._

_To get you through the day,_

_You make everything okay!_

Rachel sang the next part alone.

'_**Cause without you, I can't breathe.**_

_**I'm not ever, ever, ever gonna let you leave.**_

_**You're all I got, all I want.**_

'_**Cause without you, **_

_**I don't know what I'd do.**_

_**I could never, ever live a day without you,**_

_**Here with me, do you see, you're all I need?**_

As soon as Rachel hit that note, she saw Mercedes lose all hope in winning. The rest of the club began murmuring amongst themselves. Rachel grinned and let Mercedes sing the next part alone; it was the last time she could redeem herself and prove to her fellow glee clubbers that she was better then Rachel.

_And I will be _

_All that you want_

_And get myself together_

'_Cause you keep me from falling apart!_

_All my life_

_I'll be with you forever._

_To get you through the day,_

_You make everything okay!_

They ended together.

_All that you want_

_And get myself together_

'_Cause you keep me from falling apart!_

_And all my life_

_I'll be with you forever._

_To get you through the day,_

_You make everything okay!_

Rachel grinned. Just as she thought, no one applauded her performance. They were all too stunned. Even the teacher had a look of defeat on his face. Maybe he would quit and the McKinley club would disband for good.

"Thank you for your time." Jesse said politely, wrapping his arms around Rachel's shoulder.

"I hope you learned a lesson." Rachel called over her shoulder in a singsong voice. The club watched them, stunned, as the door to the choir room closed. As soon as they were out of sight, they high-fived each other and burst into laughter.

"Best trick ever!" Jesse exclaimed, ruffling Rachel's hair. "You are a genius, kiddo." Rachel blushed and ran her fingers through Jesse's curly hair.

"You were great, too." She said softly.

"That was an excellent acting exercise." Jesse chuckled, stopping. "I'll go get the car; you wait here."

"Okay." Rachel watched him leave and sighed, leaning against the wall. She was so wrapped up in her thoughts she didn't even hear the door to the choir room open.

"Hey." A voice said behind her. Rachel jumped and spun around, her hand flying to her heart when she saw it was only Finn.

"Oh!" She exclaimed, letting out a sigh of relief. "You scared me." Finn smiled.

"Sorry." He apologized. "I just wanted to say…you sounded awesome. I mean, I heard you perform before, but I didn't know which was voice was yours, so when I heard you this time…" Rachel blushed and pressed her finger to his lips, willing for him to be quiet.

"I understand." She said in a soft, sweet, innocent voice.

"Where's Jesse?" Finn asked, glancing around.

"Getting the car." Rachel explained.

"You two dating?" Finn asked. Rachel glanced at her feet.

"I'm not entirely sure." She admitted.

"What do you mean?" Finn asked, tipping his head to the side.

"Well, he kissed me yesterday…but today, he's acted like nothing has happened." Rachel paused. "Maybe it was just something he wanted to test."

"Guys don't just kiss girls and leave them hanging unless they're man-whores." Finn promised, lightly touching her on the arm. "You should ask him; don't wait for him to make the first move. He'll respect you more for doing that." Deep inside, Finn knew he was lying. As a guy, he knew that other guys hated having their dignity stolen when a girl made the first move. He hoped that Jesse would be humiliated enough to turn her down and then she would slowly fall for him. He hardly knew Rachel, but that didn't mean he _**didn't **_want to get to know her. He liked her personality, and listening to her sing today was like listening to an angel.

"Really?" Rachel asked, her eyes filled with hope.

"Definitely." Finn reassured her. Rachel smiled shyly.

"Thank you, Finn." She said softly. "For helping me…and breaking up that fight yesterday at the Lima Freeze. It really meant a lot to me."

"No problem." He said, grinning. "Is Jesse here yet?"

"We parked a few blocks away." Rachel admitted, shuffling her feet. "We didn't want to park on campus and put the other students and teachers to shame."

"His car is nice?" Finn asked unemotionally.

"Nice is an understatement." Rachel sighed, glancing up at Finn. "He'll be here soon, though."

"You know, I would transfer to Carmel." Finn said after a while, Rachel glanced at him, arching an eyebrow. "If I had the money. And it's kinda far from my house."

"You could carpool." Rachel said softly. "If you can sing, you should come. You would fit right in." She didn't know why she was campaigning so hard for him to Carmel, it just seemed…right, for some reason.

"You haven't even heard me sing." Finn chuckled. Rachel's face turned red and she glanced at her feet, embarrassed for assuming things too quickly. "But…we could change that now, while you're waiting." Finn continued. Rachel glanced back up at him, smiling slyly.

"Do you want to sing with me?" She asked.

"That would be totally awesome." Finn said. Rachel giggled and followed him to their auditorium. Rachel glanced around, her face scrunching up in distaste.  
"The stage is a lot smaller then the one at Carmel." She commented.

"It's still a stage." Finn responded, beckoning for her to join him. She sighed and climbed up onto the stage so she was standing in front of him.

"How did you get out of glee?" Rachel asked, arching an eyebrow again.

"They think I'm going to the bathroom." Finn said, winking. "Now, stop, uh, whatever the word is. Sing!"

"The word is stalling." She cut in before the music began playing. Who the hell was in this band? How many people were there? They seemed to be everywhere and they knew all the songs! Finn took a deep breath and started.

_And I'd give up forever to touch you,_

'_Cause I know that you feel me somehow._

_You're the closest to heaven that I'll ever be_

_And I don't want to go home right now._

Rachel watched him nod his head. She knew this song; the name was on the tip of her tongue. He obviously wanted her to take the next verse, so she searched her mind, desperately trying to remember the next part before beginning her part.

_**When all I could taste is this moment,**_

_**And all I could breathe is your life. **_

_**And sooner or later, it's over.**_

_**I just don't want to miss you tonight.**_

Finn smiled crookedly; her voice was amazing. It was mesmerizing. He almost forgot to join her in the chorus, but the sweet, shy smile reminded him that he was here to sing with her, not to fantasize.

_And I don't want the world to see me!_

'_Cause I don't think they'd understand!_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

He was good. In fact, he was _**amazing**_. Rachel liked his voice; it was natural. There wasn't a loud, Broadway quality to it, like Jesse's. It was soothing to listen to. He nodded his head again, and Rachel took the first half of the next verse.

_**And you can't fight the tears that ain't comin'.**_

_**Or the moment of truth in your lies.**_

_When everything feels like the movies,_

_Yeah, you bleed just to know you're alive. _

They sang together on the next part.

_And I don't want the world to see me!_

'_Cause I don't think they'd understand!_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

There was a break in the song, and the whole time, Rachel was taking in his features. They were nearly perfect. His hair was brown and mussed in that cute, boyish way. His eyes were the most beautiful hazel color. He was talented, he was cute…he was on the enemy team.

Finn was watching Rachel, too. Her hair was long, dark, and beautiful. It was all-natural, something Finn respected. Her eyes were round and deep, dark brown color. They reminded him of chocolate. She was pretty…no, she was hot. He didn't know why, but he _**wanted **_her. More then anything he had ever wanted before.

_And I don't want the world to see me!_

'_Cause I don't think they'd understand!_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

_I just want you to know who I am._

_And I don't want the world to see me!_

'_Cause I don't think they'd understand!_

_When everything's made to be broken,_

They began taking turns singing the last four lines of the song.

_I just want you to know who I am._

_**I just want you to know who I am.**_

_I just want you to know who I am_

_**I just want you to know who I am.**_

As the last few notes of the song began to fade away, Rachel found herself breathless. Singing with Finn was different then singing with Jesse; it electrified her senses, stimulated her nerves. She liked the feeling. But the part of her still holding onto reality knew that Jesse was waiting for her. Reluctantly, she flashed him a small smile before climbing off the stage. She paused at the doorway, feeling Finn's faze following her.

"You're good." She called over her shoulder in her sweetly innocent voice. "You should consider transferring to Vocal Adrenaline."

**Wow. More of a Finchel bonding scene, and definitely some St. Berry! Rachel and Jesse, as called for, will end up together. When, you ask? Either next chapter or the one after that. But who's to say there isn't something wrong with having another guy on the side? Am I suggesting that Rachel CHEATS on Jesse? Hm, not to that extreme. I won't give anything away. So did you like it? I hope so! I'm growing quite fond of this story…I hope you are, too! Please review! And like my Facebook page! It is 'Finntastic17- Fanfiction'. REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3: Dating Has a Catch

**Wow. It has been forever since I last updated this story! The last update came out in January! I'm so sorry for such a delay. I started working on other stories and forgot about this one, and by the time I remembered it, I wasn't really feeling it. But I knew I'd want to continue it, so I instead put it on a brief hiatus. Then today, I was looking for 'The Only Hope for Me is You', as I had been debating starting Chapter 8 on that story, and found this one instead. Curious to see what I had last written, I pulled up the last two chapters I had written and suddenly found myself wanting to continue. So I started Chapter 3, and in the same day, completed it! Now I'm posting it on Fanfiction for all of my lovely readers to enjoy! I hope it was worth the wait. I promise you I won't make you wait on an update this long again. Enjoy! This chapter is entitled 'Dating Has a Catch'.**

She couldn't get Finn's voice out of her mind. The melodic tone to it brought peace to her and swept her somewhere else entirely. She found herself daydreaming constantly, and in all of her daydreams, she found herself in the McKinley High auditorium. The sparks that flew between her and Finn always seemed to work their way into the vision much more vividly then the preceding time. They would be singing and then meet in the center of the stage. He'd grab one of her hands and the music would fade. He'd brush a strand of hair from her eyes and lean down and…

"Rachel!" Jesse exclaimed. Startled, Rachel jumped up from her bed and fell into Jesse's open embrace. Cheeks turning bright red, she backed away and mumbled her thanks. Jesse chuckled and took a seat on her bed. She took a seat beside him, suddenly feeling obligated to do so. "What were you thinking about?"

"Huh?" Rachel asked, tipping her head to the side, feigning confusion. God, if Jesse found out she had been thinking about the male lead for a competing team in a romantic way, she'd be dead.

"You seemed really deep in thought. Lost in it, actually." Jesse smiled, leaning against the headboard. Rachel followed his lead and lie next to him.

"It was nothing." Rachel mumbled. Suddenly, she felt his hand on hers. Shocked, she brought her eyes to his.

"I find you interesting, Rachel. I want to get to know everything about you." His eyes dropped to her lips. Growing nervous, she bit her bottom lip.

"Are you going to kiss me?" She whispered.

"I'm debating it." He replied honestly.

"Let me know when you've made up your mind." She said breathlessly. All thoughts of Finn were forgotten and she focused solely on Jesse and his perfect features. His eyes reminded her of hot chocolate on a cold winter day. His hair, also that dreamy brown color, was so curly it looked as though it was made of springs. His smile made her want to melt into his arms.

"I've made up my mind." Jesse said, once again interrupting her from her thoughts.

"And the jury says—" Before she could finish, his lips were on hers. She gasped and kissed back with more passion then she had the first time. Jesse grunted and raised one of his hands to cup her face. They exchanged several heated kisses before Rachel decided she'd take the simple kisses to another level. Thankfully, the thought was on Jesse's mind as well. His tongue slipped into her mouth and then their innocent kisses turned into one of the most heated make-out sessions Rachel had ever been involved in. _We aren't even dating!_ A voice in Rachel's exclaimed. She pushed the thought to the back of her mind. After all, he mom was always telling her to live in the present.

This was her acting on that.

-glee!-

Moments after the make-out session, Rachel found herself standing at her mirror, attempting to brush her hair. It had become a tangled mess after rolling around on the bed with Jesse. Her cheeks turned bright red at the memory, still fully aware that Jesse was sitting at the edge of her bed watching her.

"Your hair looked fine before." Jesse said. She could detect some humor in his voice. This made her cheeks turn even redder. She decided to ignore Jesse and focused solely on her hair. It worked brilliantly, for she soon forgot that Jesse was there. So when she finally finished brushing her hair and turned around, she took herself by surprise by falling straight into his arms.

"That's the second time that's happened today." Jesse chuckled.

"Sorry." Rachel mumbled, growing embarrassed.

"Don't be." Jesse scoffed. A playful smile appeared on his face. "Besides, I like having you in my arms." Without warning, he swept her off her feet and placed her back on the bed. He took a seat next to her and let his eyes drop to her lips once more.

"Jesse…" Rachel began slowly.

"Mhm-hm?" His eyes didn't leave her lips.

"Are we…are we dating?" She asked. There was a pause.

"I don't want to put a label on what we have." Jesse said, meeting Rachel's eyes.

"Why?" She dared to ask.

"Relationships with me always go foul. Maybe if we just keep it casual, the universe will overlook this and let us stay together." Jesse explained.

"Jesse, that's stupid. You're a catch; I want to be dating you." The words left her mouth before she could stop them.

"I really lo-, I mean, _**like**_ you, Rachel. I don't want you to get hurt…" Jesse warned. Rachel smiled coyly before loosely draping her arm over his shoulders.

"I'm not going to get hurt." She promised.

"So are you asking me out?" He smiled jokingly. Finn's advice came rushing back to her, and she nodded her head. Jesse grinned. "Then I'll have to say yes."

"So…we're dating now?" Rachel asked.

"Most definitely, girlfriend." He winked at her before leaping to his feet. "I've gotta head home now. Catch ya later, hot stuff." He pressed his lips to her forehead before exiting her room. Her breath caught in her throat as she watched him leave.

She couldn't believe it; Finn's advice had worked. She was now dating the most popular guy in school: Jesse St. James!

She'd have to stop by McKinley later this week to thank Finn.

-glee!-

"I will never get used to this auditorium." Rachel muttered ungraciously as she stepped inside the McKinley auditorium. She hadn't found the glee club in the choir room, so she assumed they would be here. Sure enough, she found them on stage. She tipped her head to the side. The club had grown; there were now three more girls. In fact, they were the three cheerleaders she had seen at the Lima Freeze the day Puck and Jesse had gotten into a fight.

She began mouthing the numbers as she counted the members. There was Mercedes, Finn, the three plastic cheerleaders, the wheelchair kid, the goth Asian girl, and the very feminine-looking guy. They still didn't have enough members to qualify for competition. But if the cheerleaders had joined…that had to mean that they were slowly working their way up.

"We're going to become even bigger fools if we do this disco song." The well-dressed boy said ungratefully as he tossed his copy of sheet music into the air. Rachel wrinkled her nose; disco? Was their teacher insane? At least she knew if they made it to competition, they would never win based on their song choice.

"I agree." The pretty blond cheerleader said, lifting her chin. She wrapped her arm around Finn's, who remained silent. Seeing her press herself against Finn's body made something inside of Rachel snap. It took every fiber of her being to not say anything. If she said anything, she'd blow her cover. Then she'd be in some serious shit.

"I can't believe he expects us to sing this in front of the entire school!" Mercedes exclaimed.

"We'll destroy our name." The Latino cheerleader said with a simple flip of her dark ponytail. She smiled at the other blond cheerleader standing next to her and linked her pinky with hers.

"Wh-wh-what name? We're the u-underdogs at this sch-sch-school." The Asian girl stuttered, glaring at the cheerleaders.

"Some of us actually have a reputation." The blond cheerleader said, twining her fingers with Finn's. Still, he hadn't said anything.

"What do you suggest we do about it?" The wheelchair kid asked, pushing his glasses farther up his nose.

"We have to choose a new song." Finn finally spoke up.

"Ooh, that's a perfect idea!" The blond cheerleader exclaimed, clapping her hands. "You're so smart, Finn!"

"Aye, shut up, Quinn!" The feminine-looking boy groaned. Rachel wrinkled her nose. Their names rhymed? Ew. She was thankful that her name didn't rhyme with Jesse. It sounded too much like something Dr. Seuss had written.

"Kurt, inside voices…" The quieter blond cheerleader whispered, pressing her index finger to her lips.

"Can we please get back to the topic of this disco catastrophe?" The wheelchair kid begged.

"Right." Finn frowned. "We've gotta do another song instead."

"Have fun convincing Mr. Schue to do that." Mercedes muttered.

"We don't have to tell him. We can rehearse it secretly. Like, practice the disco with him, but when he's not around, we can practice this other song and perform it at the assembly." Finn suggested. Rachel found herself nodding in agreement. It was a good idea. Now she wondered what song they would do in place of the disco song.

"A-a-a-and wh-what song will we d-d-do instead?" The Asian asked.

"Something cooler." The Hispanic cheerleader answered.

"Obviously." Kurt scoffed. They remained silent as they thought. Rachel rolled her eyes and without thinking, stepped out of her hiding place. No one noticed her at first. They didn't see her until she began talking. But she couldn't help it; they were a poor, suffering glee club and she decided to offer them some generous advice from her many years of experience.

"What do high school kids want more then anything?" Rachel asked. They all spun around to face her. Everyone's face hardened into a glare except for Finn's. His eyes lit up at the sight of Rachel.

"What are you doing here?" Kurt asked ungratefully.

"Were you spying on us?" Mercedes asked disbelievingly.

"Isn't that a little low for someone who's from Vocal Adrenaline?" The wheelchair kid asked, frowning.

"I wasn't spying." Rachel insisted. "There's nothing here for me to spy on except your disco song." They all winced at the mention of it. Just like that, Rachel had gained complete control over the small glee club. "Now, getting back to what I was saying…"

"Who said you were welcome here?" The Hispanic cheerleader asked snidely.

"Are you turning down my help?" Rachel asked, eyes widening. "Are you forgetting that I'm from Vocal Adrenaline, the state's best show choir?"

"We can't forget after the little stunt you pulled last week." Mercedes said, glaring at Rachel. She remembered the sing-off in the choir room clearly and winced.

"Guys, let her talk." Finn said, nodding his head for Rachel to continue. She grinned and lifted her chin.

"What do high school kids want more then anything?" She repeated. They were quiet for a moment before throwing answers in her direction.

"To fit in." Kurt said.

"Popularity." Quinn smiled, placing a quick kiss on Finn's cheek. Rachel pretended she hadn't seen that.

"A sexy body." The Hispanic cheerleader grinned seductively.

"A pony." The quiet blond suggested. Everyone turned to look at her in confusion.

"No…more then all those things…" Rachel said lightly.

"Sex." Finn breathed, his gaze right on Rachel. She blushed and nodded her head.

"You want us to sell sex at out assembly?" Kurt asked disbelievingly.

"That's highly immoral!" Quinn exclaimed.

"It'll boost your popularity." Rachel offered.

"Is that what Vocal Adrenaline does?" The wheelchair kid asked. Rachel grinned teasingly.

"Maybe…" She saw Finn lick his lips and giggled.

"What sexy song do you have in mind?" Mercedes asked warily. Rachel smiled and lifted her chin. She had the perfect song in mind.

-glee!-

"Why are we here?" Jesse hissed. "This wasn't my idea of a first date." They climbed up the bleachers of the McKinley High gym. It was the day of the assembly.

"You'll see." Rachel said, smiling.

"What did you do?" Jesse asked warily as they took a seat in the very back. He draped his arm over shoulders and placed a soft kiss on her cheek.

"I may have given them an idea for a song."

"Why would you do that?" Jesse exclaimed. "You're only going to empower them!"

"Okay, first of all, they only have eight kids. You need twelve to compete. Second of all, their teacher doesn't know they're doing this song. He's had them working on disco these past few weeks." Rachel explained.

"Disco? That's a crime in itself." Jesse muttered. "So what song did you suggest?"

"'Push It'."

"No way!" Jesse exclaimed.

"Seeing that the teacher has no control over his students, the principal will fire him and the club will be left without a director. They will disband and New Directions will become No Directions." Rachel grinned as the plan unfolded before her.

"You're a genius." Jesse whispered in her ear. "That's why I like you." She smiled and shuddered.

"Let's watch." Rachel said quietly as the principal took his stand.

This was going to be fun to watch.

But in the back of Rachel's mind, she knew her true intention was not to destroy New Directions.

No, it was to see Finn again.

-glee!-

They hadn't even bothered to continue with the assembly after the glee club performed their horrendous song. They weren't that bad, considering there were only eight of them and they didn't have the privileges Rachel and Jesse did. In fact, they were pretty decent. Finn still had to get the hang of dancing and singing at the same time, but otherwise, the performance was a good one. They had the other kids watching them with eager eyes and cheering loudly for more. This didn't surprise Rachel at all; their reactions were similar to the ones she got when Vocal Adrenaline performed their sexy songs.

"You did it." Jesse whispered, bringing his arms around her waist and pulling her body close to his. Rachel's heart began to race as Jesse leaned forward to place a kiss on her lips. She wasn't aware that Finn was watching her with Quinn on his arm until afterwards. The kiss started out sweet and simple, but soon grew heated and passionate. Finn watched on longingly and confusedly.

"I can't believe it!" Quinn exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air. "We let her help us actually believing she was giving us genuine advice!"

"What are you talking about?" Finn asked, still distracted by Rachel and Jesse kissing.

"That there is Jesse St. James, the male lead of Vocal Adrenaline. He's a senior, meaning he's been their star for four years. All four of those years they've won national titles. Now he and Rachel are shoving each other's tongues down their throats. It's obvious that she was plotting against us the whole time!" Quinn explained.

"Rachel wouldn't do that." Finn murmured.

"Open your eyes, Finn! Look at them! They were planning for us to fall right into their trap. Now that Figgins and Coach Sylvester have seen us perform, they'll be convinced that Mr. Schuester isn't fit to be an educator, which means we have no director which means _**no more glee club**_."

"It wasn't Mr. Schuester's fault." Finn protested, dragging his gaze from Rachel to Quinn. Since when had Quinn cared so much about glee? Before, all she talked about was homecoming and how they had to win homecoming king and queen.

"It's a lose-lose. Mr. Schuester could get fired for having us perform something as vile as that and he could get fired for not know what we were up to because both points prove that he isn't fit to be an educator." Quinn lifted her chin and crossed her arms. "I knew nothing good would come of this."

"Since when did you start caring so much about glee?" The words flew out of Finn's mouth before he could stop them. He watched Quinn's face fall.

"Since I realized it was the only thing that was keeping us together." She reached out and squeezed his hand. "I love you, Finn, and if being in this sinking ship known as glee club is what makes you happy, then I'll put up with it."

"I love you, too." Finn said quietly, his gazing fleeting back to Rachel for a moment. He wondered if maybe Quinn had been right. After all, she and Jesse had plotted to humiliate them once. It could have been very likely that she was doing it again.

He hoped that wasn't the case.

-glee!-

She was back in the auditorium again. She didn't know why she had come, but she hoped that she would be the only one this time. The guilt from her latest trick, even if it was unintentional, had been eating away at her and she felt that she had to apologize. But she couldn't face the whole club. There was one person she wanted to apologize to in particular, knowing he would've been one of the most hurt by the stunt she pulled.

She managed to convince Jesse that she was going out to buy a new CD she had been dying to get since the day she knew it was being released. He believed her and kissed her goodbye and told her he'd see her later that night. Dating Jesse St. James was one of the best things that had ever happened to her. Her feelings of interest had begun to blossom into feelings of love. She was falling in love with Jesse.

And her feelings for Finn, if they even qualified as 'feelings', were nothing more then friend feelings. That's what she had decided. But why had she envisioned herself kissing Finn? Was she really so desperate for love that she would have kissed the enemy team's male lead? Was she that delusional? She was glad to have Jesse now; the daydreams consisting of Finn had subsided. Instead, they were replaced with vivid visions of her and Jesse taking their relationship to the next level.

They had been dating for a total of two weeks now and were already crazy about each other. The whole school knew about their blossoming romance now. Even her mom knew; she didn't care. Of course, Rachel had to leave the door open now when Jesse came over, but her mom approved of Jesse. She thought he was a perfect match for Rachel. They were caught making out a few times in the hallways by various members of the staff or other students, but because of their popularity at Carmel, they let it slide.

"Rachel?" The disbelief colored his voice. Rachel spun around and sure enough (thankfully), Finn was standing behind her. The skepticism soon turned into a mix of wariness and betrayal. She winced; she didn't understand why it bothered her to see Finn upset with her like he was, but it did.

"I came to apologize." Rachel admitted, glancing at her feet.

"So you did plan for this to happen." Finn clarified, his voice growing tight with shock and anger. She flinched.

"Not at first." Rachel replied honestly. "I was truly helping you at first, but afterwards, I realized there was a plan in itself unfolding right before my very eyes. I didn't do anything to stop it, though. That's what I've come to apologize for."

"Do you know what you've done?" Finn asked.

"Was your teacher fired?"

"No. But Figgins doesn't trust him anymore. He gave him a list of pre-approved songs. We're only allowed to perform songs from that list." He handed Rachel a piece of paper. She took it from his hand and read over the song names. She wrinkled her nose in distaste before handing the piece of paper back to Finn.

"I'm so sorry, Finn." Rachel whispered. She saw Finn flinch visibly and wondered if maybe she had some sort of power over him.

"It's alright, I guess. Maybe if we prove to Figgins that we're sorry for what we did, we'll be able to do something cool at sectionals." He flashed a crooked smile in Rachel's direction, causing her to blush.

"You need to recruit four more members in order to compete." Rachel pointed out.

"No sweat." Finn snorted. "After the stunt we pulled, thanks to you, we'll have at least four more people joining glee club. Hopefully there will be some more guys, 'cause I think Artie's getting tired of carrying out the male part. I know I am." Rachel giggled, assuming Artie was the kid in the wheelchair, as he was the only other guy besides Kurt.

"I'm sure you guys will do great at sectionals." Rachel said softly. Finn stepped onto the stage and slowly took a few steps in her direction, causing Rachel's heartbeat to quicken its pace.

"Are you guys going to be there?" He asked hopefully.

"No; our sectionals competition isn't the same as yours. But I'll see you at regionals…if you win." She winked. Finn chuckled.

"What makes you think you guys will win?"

"We're Vocal Adrenaline!" Rachel exclaimed, throwing her hands above her head. Finn laughed and smiled at her.

"You're adorable." He said softly. She blushed and turned towards a small picnic basket she had brought along with her.

"I brought us something to drink. Virgin cosmos." She grinned.

"What made you think I'd show up here?" Finn asked, frowning.

"Lucky guess." Rachel winked before taking a seat on the stage. Finn followed her lead and watched as she poured two small glasses, handing one to Finn.

"The glasses are like the airplane ones." Finn pointed out nervously. Rachel smiled coyly; was she making Finn nervous?

"Cheers!" She exclaimed.

"Cheers." He repeated, smiling as their glasses touched. "So…are you, like, dating Jesse now?" Rachel grinned and nodded her head.

"That's also why I came here! I wanted to thank you; you're the reason we're dating now." She smiled.

"Me?" Finn asked, wondering how he got them together when that was one of the last things he wanted.

"The advice you gave me when I came to McKinley that one day really helped. I confronted Jesse and asked him if we were dating. He said we weren't at the moment, but that he liked me. So I asked him out, and he said yes!" Rachel squealed.

"Yay." Finn said with fake enthusiasm. Shit; his advice was supposed to drive Jesse away from Rachel, not to her. None of the guys he knew would say yes to a girl, even if he wanted to be dating her. It was just against the law for the girl to ask the guy.

"And…um…are you and Quinn dating?" Rachel asked casually, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah. Going on four months." He smiled. "She's awesome, really."

"I'm sure." Rachel grinned. Finn smiled at her before leaning forward.

"You've got a bit of cosmos right…there." He drew his thumb over her bottom lip and watched as her cheeks turned bright red. His gaze dropped to her lips and he imagined kissing them. Yes, he loved Quinn, but he couldn't but feel the attraction he felt for Rachel. Out of his peripheral vision, he saw her gaze drop to his lips as well.

"You can kiss me if you want to." She breathed, instantly regretting the words that left her mouth. She was dating Jesse, and he was dating Quinn. If either of their significant others found out about their time in the auditorium, they would be killed for sure. But she couldn't stop the words from leaving her mouth.

"I want to." Finn whispered. He leaned even closer and pressed his lips to hers, gently lying her down on the floor. Both of them expected it to be just another kiss, like they had experienced with Quinn and Finn. But sparks were flying the moment their lips met. It was like an explosion of fireworks. Rachel wasn't ready for such a strong sensation; it took her by surprise and made her want more. It made her forget for a split second that she was dating Jesse. Of course, Finn had forgotten several times that he was dating Quinn the moment he first met Rachel. Shit! Quinn would kill him if she ever found out about this! Abruptly, Finn pulled away and leapt to his feet.

"Finn-?" Rachel sat up, eyes growing wide with anguish and confusion.

"I've gotta go. Please…don't tell anyone about this." And with that, Finn reluctantly darted out of the auditorium. Rachel watched him leave, and she couldn't help herself.

She cried. But as she cried, she realized that not only was her brief make-out session with Finn never to be mentioned to anyone as long as she lived, but that her heart did not belong to Finn Hudson.

It did, in fact, belong to Jesse St. James.

She would never return to McKinley no matter what.

**Ooh. So I'm still trying to follow the basic storyline of the episodes to some extent. I know that Quinn, Santana, and Brittany weren't members of glee club before the assembly, but I needed to change that in order to make the glee club a little less nonexistent. Because honestly, that club was nothing without Rachel when there was barely anyone there. What did you think of the St. Berry relationship? And the budding Finchel relationship? Obviously Rachel is going to have to return to McKinley at some point, so do not despair! I'm not entirely sure what should happen in the next chapter. I know that instead of Rachel going to McKinley, Finn and a couple others come to Carmel to ask to hire Dakota Stanley. And that's how Finn and Rachel will be reunited. Should Jesse start to get a little jealous, or should that come later on? Tell me what you think XD! Read my other stories, like my Facebook page, and most importantly…REVIEW! Expect an update on 'The Only Hope for Me is You' and 'How Does it Feel' by the end of this week! After that, I will not update any other story until my double update of 'In the End, It's Right' is posted, I promise. Okay, that's it. Don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4: Absence Makes the Heart Grow

**So this chapter, in my opinion, is humorous. I don't know why, but I find it amusing XD. I wonder if you will, too…haha. Anyways, I hope you enjoy. This chapter is entitled 'Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder'.**

"Hey, there." Jesse grinned before placing a quick kiss on her lips. Rachel smiled at him and murmured a hello to him before returning her attention towards the rain outside. Jesse followed her gaze and smiled wryly.

"What?" Rachel asked, frowning at his expression. Jesse chuckled.

"Nothing. It's just that making out in the rain is something very romantic that couples in movies tend to do." He answered. Rachel blushed and glanced at the floor.

"You want to?" She offered.

"I think you know that answer." He chuckled. He held out his hand and Rachel grasped onto it tightly and giggled as the two of them darted out the entrance to Carmel High and ran into the pouring rain.

"We're going to get soaked!" Rachel exclaimed.

"The rain tends to do that to you." Jesse said back before pressing his lips to her. She welcomed the kiss and suddenly the rain or how uncomfortable she now felt in her wet clothes didn't matter. She grinned as he cupped her face in his hand. She loved the way Jesse kissed her. It was entirely different from the way—

That's right; she had sworn to herself to stop thinking of…the incident. She couldn't think about it. Not only had Finn running out and asking her to pretend that nothing had happened between them hurt, but realizing that kissing him meant that she had cheated on Jesse made her never want to go back to McKinley.

"I thought of a new prank." Jesse murmured against her lips.

"Prank?" Rachel echoed as Jesse deepened the kisses.

"Yeah…for that McKinley glee club." Jesse snickered and pulled away briefly. "I think it might be one of the bests."

"I don't know, Jesse; I think we've proven to them that we aren't a club to mess with…" Rachel said hesitantly. She couldn't go back to McKinley. Not after cheating on her new boyfriend. Especially a boyfriend that she cared about deeply.

"Yeah, but there's no rule against reminding them every now and again." Jesse smiled and winked.

"I'm not really in the mood."

"Well, we don't have to today." Jesse smiled. "Come on, Rachel; you usually love pulling pranks on them."

"I guess it's just gotten kind of old for me." Rachel replied with a shrug.

"I hope this hasn't gotten old for you." Jesse breathed before pressing his lips to hers once more.

"Never." Rachel replied breathlessly. They reentered the building and headed off to the auditorium hand in hand. When they entered the room, Shelby and Dakota and the rest of Vocal Adrenaline lifted their heads. Shelby's eyes widened and Dakota let out a gasp.

"You two! You look absolutely disgraceful!" He exclaimed.

"You're all wet…" Shelby's voice trailed off as she gave them each a stern glance. "What were you guys up to?"

"Making out in the rain." Andrea snickered behind them. Rachel's jaw tightened and she flashed her a warning glare. Andrea had always been rather cruel to Rachel, but her evil ways had grown since she and Jesse had started dating.

"I can't have them perform like this!" Dakota shrieked.

"He's right; you two are absolutely soaked." Shelby agreed.

"We can change." Jesse offered.

"Not together." She warned.

"Mom!" Rachel hissed. Jesse chuckled and squeezed her hand reassuringly.

"Of course not, Ms. Corcoran." He promised. The two exited the auditorium and darted down the hallway together. Their laughter echoed behind them and for once made Rachel forget entirely about her rendezvous with Finn Hudson.

-glee!-

"That new number that Dakota prepared for us could be considered child abuse." Rachel complained. Jesse smiled.

"At least we know we'll win with a routine like that." Jesse said brightly. "So what movie do you want to see?" Jesse and Rachel had decided to go to the local movie theater that night to celebrate their three-week anniversary. Rachel shrugged.

"I don't really care."

"Really? You know you're the first girl to say that to me?" Jesse grinned.

"Don't get used to it." Rachel warned.

"I know not to." Jesse winked. "But you just saved me from sitting through another chick flick."

"For now." Rachel grinned. She placed a kiss on his cheek before leaving his side to wait inside. She had given Jesse money for her ticket, but she doubted he would use it. Jesse was always insisting on paying for her. As soon as she walked inside, she noticed a couple making out. She watched them closely and frowned. Why did they look so familiar? She couldn't really see the girl; all she could see was her blond hair. And the guy had a Mohawk. She gasped. The couple was none other then Puck and Quinn. But Finn had told her he and Quinn were dating…did they break up?

"I paid for your ticket; you can have your money back." Jesse said from behind her. But Rachel was so distracted she didn't bother to lecture him and demand he keep the money. "Wow. No lecture, huh? What's got you distracted?"

"Look, Jesse! They go to McKinley!" Rachel exclaimed, pointing in Puck and Quinn's direction. Jesse followed her finger.

"Oh, hey, it's that asshole I got in a fight with." Jesse smirked. "Should I punch him and ask him to leave _**our**_ place?"

"Don't, Jesse." Rachel cast a warning glare in his direction. "And that's Quinn."

"She's new to the glee club, isn't she?" Jesse asked. "Yeah, I saw her with that tall quarterback guy. Finn's his name, right?" Rachel blushed and glanced at her feet but nodded.

"Yes."

"Cool. Well, if we ever decide to go to the Lima Freeze again, we can hold this over their heads." Jesse grabbed her hand and they headed towards the theater. _Why doesn't he get it? Oh, wait; he doesn't know that Quinn and Finn are dating._ Rachel thought. There's no way Finn and Quinn could have broken up. She had only been with Finn three days before and he said they had been dating. They had to still be dating… unless Quinn had somehow found out about what had happened between her and Finn in the auditorium.

"Why do you care so much about them?" Jesse asked scornfully. Rachel shook herself out of her trance.

"Huh?"

"You kept staring behind you, and you seemed very caught up what they were doing." Jesse explained. "It can't be because you're jealous; you and I have done worse in public." Rachel blushed at this. "So obviously it's 'cause you care about them."

"I don't care." Rachel argued. "I just think it's funny that they're here."

"Funny?" Jesse echoed. "How?"

"The fact that they got all pissed when we were in the Lima Freeze and here they are in our movie theater." Rachel shrugged. "I find it funny." Jesse smiled.

"I think it's funny that you find it funny." Jesse grinned and placed a quick kiss on her lips before leading her into their movie. Rachel let out a quiet sigh of relief. She hated that she had to lie to Jesse, but it was the only way to keep from telling him about what had happened between her and Finn at the McKinley auditorium.

But little did Rachel know, Jesse could tell she was hiding something. And while he couldn't quite figure out exactly what it was, he knew it had some connection to the couple making out outside. Why else would Rachel be lying to him?

So he'd make sure to find a way to make Rachel confess to whatever it was she was hiding.

-glee!-

He thinks he finally has her figured out. Throughout the whole movie, he could tell she was still thinking about them. And he couldn't help but feel a bit of annoyance at this prospect. Especially when the couple walked into the room. She glanced up and her eyes widened. Every now and again, he'd catch her stealing glances at them. She looked intrigued and slightly curious. He didn't like it one bit. Yeah, he's got her figured out.

So when they step out of the movie, he doesn't bother to suppress his annoyed groan when he sees her staring at them once again. She looks at him confusedly before returning her gaze to them.

"Do you like him?" Jesse asked.

"Huh?" Rachel asked, once again tearing her gaze away from Puck and Quinn.

"That asshole who kicked us out of the Lima Freeze. Do you like him?" Jesse repeated impatiently. Rachel smiled slyly.

"Is that jealousy I hear in your voice, Jesse?" She asked teasingly.

"Just answer the question." He demanded. Bewildered, Rachel shook her head and placed her hands on her hips.

"That's an absurd question! Of course I don't like him! I've seen him once, and that was when he beat you up. How can I possibly like him?" Rachel wrinkled her nose. "I'm offended that you'd even think I like someone other then you." She flipped her hair over her shoulder and stormed off in the opposite direction.

_Yeah, you've got a way with the ladies, Jesse. Great fucking going._ He darted after her. Usually he'd just let the other girl leave and break up with her the next day. But Rachel was special. He really, _**really**_ liked her. And he didn't want to fuck this up, especially over another couple.

"Rachel, wait." He called after her. He wasn't surprised when she didn't slow her pace. She had a mind of her own; it was one of the things Jesse liked best about her. He grabbed her arm and pulled her to a stop. "I'm sorry. I wasn't really thinking. You were staring at them the whole time and I thought it was because you were the slightest bit interested in that guy."

"That's crazy, Jesse." She said softly. "There's only one person I'm interested in, and that's you." She smiled shyly before placing a sweet kiss on his lips.

"I don't mean to be difficult, but that doesn't explain why you were staring at them." Jesse smiled sheepishly.

"When we pulled that prank last time, I overheard that Quinn was dating Finn." Rachel explained carefully. She had to choose her words with caution. "That was only four days ago."

"And she was making out with that one guy." Jesse finished. "They could've broken up, you know."

"I know, but it just seems very unlikely."

"A lot can happen in the course of four days." Jesse smiled. Rachel blushed and glanced at the floor.

"I don't think they broke up, Jesse." Rachel said softly. "I think she was cheating on Finn."

"And?" Jesse snorted. "Don't you see how that can help us out? He's clearly the heart of their team just as you're the heart of ours. If she was cheating on him and he finds out, their team will be totally crushed."

"Yeah." Rachel smiled halfheartedly.

"Come on; let's go home." They walked out of the movie theater hand-in-hand, but Rachel couldn't help but wonder if maybe she should let Finn know about his girlfriend's whereabouts.

She decided not to.

-glee!-

"Uh-uh, you're not puking in here!" Dakota bellowed, pointing a menacing finger at a very sick Andrea. She looked scared shitless as she watched Dakota point towards the door. "You're going out there. If you think this is hard, then you might as well not bother showing back up!" Andrea darted out of the auditorium and made a beeline for the school entrance. Rachel watched her leave and snorted.

"You!" Dakota yelled, pointing his finger at Rachel. "Go outside and make sure she doesn't die. I don't want to have to deal with any lawsuits."

"Me?" Rachel asked disbelievingly. Dakota had to know that she and Andrea were enemies. She placed her hands on her hips.

"Yes, you. Who else would I be pointing at? Now move it, shorty!" Dakota exclaimed. Rachel looked to her mom desperately for support, but Shelby just rubbed her temples and motioned for Rachel to go. With a frustrated groan, Rachel stormed out of the auditorium. She hated Dakota. While he got the job done and his dance routines always got them first place, he was an ass. Even her mom thought so. Plus he charged too much for his services. Thankfully, because of their success, Carmel High and the school district were more then happy to provide them with the money needed to pay Dakota.

As soon as she was out of eyesight, she stuck her middle finger out in his direction and muttered, "Fuck you" before exiting the school to find Andrea crouched over a trashcan crying and puking her guts out. With an exaggerated eye roll, Rachel reluctantly walked up to her teammate and held back her hair. Before Andrea could question her, Rachel answered her quickly.

"Dakota sent me out here." She mumbled. Just then, she saw a nice black SUV pull up. Curiousity filled her senses and she turned her attention from Andrea to the SUV. Who drove a car as nice as that? She frowned and studied the features closely, her eyes widening as the doors opened. The people that stepped out of the car surprised her more then car itself.

"No fucking way…" She murmured. Andrea glanced up and frowned before returning her gaze to the trash can and continued puking her guts out. Out of the SUV stepped the McKinley High glee club, one after another. _Shit, shit, shit…_

She didn't want to see any of them right now! She didn't want to see Finn, mainly, but she didn't want to put up with any of them right now. Not to mention that she looked like total shit. Dakota had worked their asses since school had been dismissed. Her cheeks were flushed red and she was sweating like mad. Her hair, which had earlier been pulled back into a neat ponytail, was now falling apart and going in every direction. And they were wearing those ugly costumes they wore at the recital. She made a quick attempt to try and fix her hair, but it didn't matter. Her attempts were useless.

Wait a minute…where was Finn? Everyone but Finn was there. She could see Mercedes, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Quinn…wait, did Quinn know about the auditorium? She was totally fucked. A suckish ending to what had started out to be a pretty good day.

"That's Andrea." Kurt whispered to Mercedes, whom had linked her arm to his. "Besides Rachel, she's supposed to be one of the best soloists." Rachel frowned. Besides? There was no 'besides' in Vocal Adrenaline. She got all the solos and she was their star. Andrea never got any solos. What the hell was Kurt talking about? The three cheerleaders darted forwards and plastered fake bright smiles on their faces.

"Hi, there. We were wondering if maybe Dakota Stanley would be able to lend his services to our glee club, too?" Quinn asked hopefully. Rachel scrunched up her nose in distaste, but didn't say anything. She didn't trust her words much at this point. She wanted so bad to ask Quinn if she and Finn had broken up. Or if she had cheated on him, since she did end up seeing her making out with Puck at the movies.

"Don't hire him." Andrea croaked, just barely lifting her head from the trashcan. Her face was paled and tears stained the sides of her cheeks. Scratch Rachel looking like shit; Andrea looked ten times worse. "He's a monster." Rachel nodded her head in agreement.

"He is." She said softly. Kurt smirked.

"Glad to know we can trust you." He said sarcastically, and Rachel knew he was referring to the assembly.

"Look, you got what you wanted." She hissed. "You got the slightest bit more popular and you got to keep your teacher. And you didn't have to perform disco and run your poor reputations into the ground." She knew she was being harsh, but she didn't care. She just wanted them to leave.

"Well, we aren't leaving." Santana announced. Fuck. "We're staying here until we can ask him himself."

"You'll regret it." Rachel and Andrea said in unison.

"Coach Sylvester is probably ten times worse then him; we can handle it." Quinn growled. They all shuffled back to the SUV murmuring amongst themselves and casting Rachel dirty looks. She rolled her eyes and stuck up her middle finger like she had earlier and mouthed 'fuck you' before hauling Andrea's ass back inside. Yeah, she knew she wouldn't be welcome back at McKinley for a while, if ever. But she didn't fucking care right now.

She just wasn't in the mood to care.

Finn didn't come with them. She couldn't stop thinking about that. He didn't go with them to visit Carmel to ask for their permission to hire Dakota Stanley. It would have been the perfect opportunity to see her. Unless…did he not want to see her? Of course. Just like she didn't want to see him, he didn't want to see her. She fought back tears and instead let out an annoyed sigh.

She just wanted to lie down and cry.

-glee!-

"They want to hire Dakota?" Jesse asked disbelievingly. Rachel nodded her head in response. "Are they crazy?"

"Not really." Rachel shrugged. "They want to be better then us; Dakota's routines help make us good. They don't know him like we do." Jesse snorted.

"Dakota's routines aren't what make us good; you're what makes good. And they can never have you." Jesse declared. Rachel smiled halfheartedly before sighing.

"They don't know what they're getting into." Rachel winced. "They're holding a car wash to help raise money to hire him." Jesse grinned widely.

"Maybe we should attend." He suggested.

"Wh-What?" She stammered.

"Yeah. Let's help them out. We'll make an anonymous donation to help them with their mission." Jesse smiled. "It'll be a perfect prank."

"Andrea and I already told them that he's evil, so they'll know right off the bat that we're just pulling another prank." She really didn't want to go back to McKinley.

"So? It's still a prank. They're probably so desperate for Dakota's 'help' that they won't even see it coming till afterwards." Jesse pointed out. "When's the car wash?" Reluctantly, she told him the date. "Great. You'll come with me?"

"I guess…" Rachel muttered. Jesse grinned and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"It's a date, then."

-glee!-

"So they hired Dakota?" Rachel asked.

"Yep." Jesse snickered. "They're in for a surprise."

"Yeah." Rachel smiled. "Um, listen…I have to go somewhere now. So I'll see you tonight."

"Alright." Jesse gave her a kiss goodbye and watched her leave. She climbed into her car and started the engine, pulling out of its parking space and driving away.

"I can't believe I'm doing this." She muttered to herself. She turned on her radio and frowned as 'Iris' began playing. The song instantly took her back to the time she had sung with Finn. She sighed. That's what she was doing. Earlier that morning she decided she couldn't stay away from McKinley any longer and leave things with Finn the way they were.

She continued driving until she finally came across McKinley High. She pulled into one of the empty parking spaces and snuck onto the campus. With quick footsteps, she continued down the empty hallway until she came across the choir room. She instantly caught Finn's eye. She ignored the confused and slightly guarded look in his eyes and gestured for him to go to the auditorium. Before anyone else could see her, she quickly darted off to the auditorium. Sadly for Rachel, her luck was just not with her, for she ended up running into Dakota. With a grimace, she stepped away and sighed.

"You!" He screeched. "What are you doing here?" Before she could answer, Finn stepped outside of the choir room.

"Rachel?" He asked confusedly. With a wicked grin, Dakota once again returned his gaze to Rachel. She was so fucking busted.

"Off to see your secret boyfriend, huh?"

"He's not my boyfriend." Rachel argued, her cheeks turning bright red.

"He's something." Dakota countered. "Hm, what will Jesse say when he finds out about this? Or your mom? Or all of Vocal Adrenaline, for that matter?" Rachel wasn't one to beg, but she was desperate.

"Please don't tell them." She begged. "I'll do anything, just don't tell them. Please."

"Um…I think I'll talk to you another time…" Finn said quietly, stepping back into the choir room. She groaned inwardly; she really needed to talk to Finn, but this was ten times more important.

"Anything?" Dakota checked. She didn't like where this was going, but she was desperate, so she nodded her head solemnly. "Hm…well there is something you can do for me…"

"What?" Rachel asked cautiously.

"If you can get me a date with your mother, then I'll keep your secret for you." Dakota smirked at Rachel's horrified facial expression. "If you fail, I won't hesitate to tell everyone about your little rendezvous with the male lead of the enemy team. And then, Ms. Rachel Berry, you will be very, very screwed."

**Heehee, I don't know…but something about Shelby and Dakota on a date makes me want to laugh. I put that in there because I know that Rachel would be utterly disgusted by Dakota dating her mom, but she would need to in order to keep her secret a secret. And don't worry; there will be some Finchel in the next chapter along with some more St. Berry. So what did you think? I enjoyed writing this chapter very much; I hope you enjoyed reading it. Tell me what you think should happen next in your amazing reviews XD. That's all for now. Read my other stories, like my Facebook page, and most importantly…REVIEW! My next update will be on 'Seventeen Reasons Why'…and maybe, if you're lucky, I might be in the mood to update either 'Nine Months of Solitude' or 'How Does it Feel'.**


	5. RIP Cory Monteith

My fellow Gleeks.

Today truly is a saddening and heartbreaking day. There are no words I can think of to console the sadness that wells up in my heart as I listen to 'Don't Stop Believing' yet again. Cory Monteith was a wonderful man with a beautiful heart and soul. He changed a lot of our lives and taught us many things. For many of us, it was easy to identify with such a magnificent young man. He did such great things for everyone. And the way he loved Lea Michele, both as Finn Hudson on Glee and Cory Monteith in the real world, was remarkable. It goes to show that good guys do exist, for he truly was one of them.

I was bullied a lot throughout middle school and part of high school, as I have yet to finish (I graduate this year). It was depressing and a very hard time for me. I ended up curling up in this shell and remaining hidden from the world as I feared being hurt again. Then Glee came…I instantly fell in love with its characters, its lessons, and its stories. I identified the most with Rachel, but I fell in love with Finn:). I loved how he loved Rachel, and it made me feel loved in a way. That's how powerful Cory was as an actor…he made someone as insignificant as me feel special. He was my first celebrity crush and helped me set my standards for men. If they're not like Finn, then they're not worth it…lol. It seems unrealistic, yes, but at the same time…it's not.

Cory Monteith was my hero. I could not thank him more for what he's done for me. Though he will never truly know, he did make such a huge difference in my life, and for that, I am grateful. I hope he finds peace where he is now3 and my heart, of course, goes out to his family and Lea. God bless, and don't stop believing. Stay tuned this week for an update of some of my stories in honor and in memory and dedicated to Cory Monteith.

Rachel Berry on Glee once said that being a part of something special made you special. It was later repeated in season two by Finn Hudson when he and Rachel were fighting. He asked if she considered them to be a part of something special.

Cory, you are forever in the hearts of millions of fans. You have clarified the meaning of special for us, and you will always be a part of something special.

~Finntastic17

RIP Cory Monteith 7/14/13. You will be missed.


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